Stephen Hough Wigmore Hall residency

In this, the second of the three concerts from his residency at Wigmore Hall, Stephen Hough is joined by Michael Collins and Andrei Ioniță in music by Schumann, Frühling and Brahms.

Stephen Hough has put together this programme, featuring two German romantic giants and a relatively obscure composer. History can be unfair in who it chooses to immortalise, and the neglected figure of the Austrian composer Carl Frühling is a case in point. In the wake of the First World War, Frühling's career was virtually destroyed and both he and his music were soon forgotten, though some of his chamber works, including his Brahms-inspired Clarinet Trio have been championed by leading musicians in recent years. Composed around half a century earlier, Schumann's five short Stücke im Volkston (Pieces in Folk Style) date from 1849, his most fruitful year, portraying a wide range of characters: beginning with a drunken, one-legged soldier and finishing not with a happy ending but a fierce finale.

A profound sense of nostalgia infuses Brahms' Clarinet Trio, one of the finest examples of the genre. It was composed for star German clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld, after Brahms had already declared he had written his final composition. Raw passion battles with moments of reflective introspection throughout, and like so much of his work from this period, the music is laced with a sense of angst, regret and wistfulness.

Recorded last month at London's Wigmore Hall and presented by Ian Skelly.

Schumann: 5 Stücke im Volkston Op 102
Carl Frühling: Clarinet Trio Op 40

Interval music (from CD)
Stephen Hough introduces his choice of interval music to complement tonight's programme:
Bruckner: Christus factus est; Os Justi; Locus iste
Polyphony
Stephen Layton (conductor)

Brahms: Hungarian Dance No 5 in F sharp minor WoO 1 (trans. Stephen Hough for clarinet trio)
Brahms: Intermezzo in E flat Op 117 No 1 (trans. Stephen Hough for clarinet trio)
Brahms: Clarinet Trio in A minor Op 114

Stephen Hough (piano)
Michael Collins (clarinet)
Andrei Ioniță (cello)